Illawarra Craft & Arts Network

03/04/2012

19/04/2011

great to see emergence of new Art & Design Market looking forward to future collaborations

23/03/2011

04/03/2011

Award winning Dapto artist, Kay Norington, has been painting original, diverse art works for over twenty years. She studied at Wollongong TAFE from 1977-1983, completing various courses in art and design, still life, landscape painting, life drawing and silk screening. She is also a noted sign writer and calligrapher.

Kay has successfully exhibited in numerous major exhibitions, including Florawarra during the 1980s, for which she was the resident artist at Wollongong City Gallery.

Many of Kay’s paintings have been commissioned or purchased by both public and private collectors. They now enhance the walls of private homes and public buildings in England, Italy, Germany, Canada, South Africa, The United States and Australia.

The most striking aspect of Kay’s work is her diversity. She works with a variety of media and subject matter to create individualistic works of art. Kay enjoys experimenting with her art and her eclectic work shows her versatility.


58 Compton Street
DAPTO NSW 2530

ph: +61 2 4261 7089

04/03/2011

I have been a practicing artist and teacher for over 25 years

For most of these years I worked with clay as my primary medium producing tableware and exhibition pieces.

Since 2005 I have been primarily painting using oils, acrylic and mixed media on both paper & canvas. The subject matter in my paintings varies. Each work is a personal expression of an object or a place that is special to me.

http://www.fineartbymcmahon.com

04/03/2011

I enjoy a variety of subject matter, living opposite a beautiful beach
gives me scope for the ever changing ocean vista, high tide, low tide
the shifting sand patterns, just the sunlight on the rocks can attract
my attention.

Animals are another favourite subject and have had commissions for many much loved pets, if I can catch that special look i their eyes at the beginning of the painting it is magic and I know I have captured what owners want, and from that basis work around the rest of the animal, getting fur and markings just right. It is a challenge which I love.

Landscapes, river scenes, flowers I am drawn to all that nature has to offer and feel so privileged to be able to express myself in that way.

A blank canvas offers so many opportunities and at the start of every painting I think (oh goodness, can I do this) and that wonderful feeling when a painting is finished and I realise that YES I can do this.

Acrylic is my preferred medium, but I do work in oil, water colour and now trying my hand in pastel.

04/03/2011

Anita Larkin received a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Sydney College of The Arts in 1993, and has since exhibited extensively within Australia and internationally. She is represented by Defiance Gallery in Newtown, Sydney. (www.defiancegallery.com)

In 1997 her first solo show Bodily Felt was held at Project Contemporary Art Space in Wollongong consisting of a series of life-size casts of human figurative sculptures in paper and felt.

Feltmaking still informs a large part of Larkin’s art practice, a craft she has taught and given lectures about since 1994, and has recently formed The Illawarra Feltmakers, who meet twice a month in Shellharbour. She continues to teach workshops in feltmaking and sculpture to interested groups.

Invited to the World Meeting of Felt Artists in Hungary in 2004, Larkin has also traveled to Turkey to learn their methods of feltmaking. Intrigued by the sculptural nature of felt she has transformed the material into strange and innovative forms, particularly hats. The felt she makes by hand using the hair of various sheep, in much the same way as nomadic cultures have done for thousands of years. It is an intriguing material that is both primitive yet industrial, and intensely tactile.

Since she was a small child Larkin has collected and assembled found objects, finding the hidden story inside abandoned things to often be the beginning of a new work. These objects bring a sense of history, intrigue and familiarity to the sculpture. Larkin's eclectic found object sculptures exude a wry sense of humour, belying a more serious investigation into the peculiarities of humanity. Her intriguing works often explore issues of fate and self-will, and the uneasy co-existence of the body with the psychological self.

Investigating the role of function and dysfunction within sculpture, Larkin creates strange post-apocalyptic 'Tools for forgotten purposes' using discarded industrial and domestic objects. She is intrigued by the malleable boundary lying between an artifact, a toy and a sculpture, and thereby produces works that suggest play, infer movement, and are finely crafted to appear as if they are relics from some oddball post apocalyptic civilization.

Contact Anita Larkin for artist lectures, workshops, and commissions.

http://www.anitalarkin.com

04/03/2011

dolls dress

Grace van der Kooi is a dolls' dressmaker. She has been creating dolls' outfits for over sixty years but she now specialises in 2 to 4-piece outfits for "Baby Born" size dolls. Other sizes are available by order.

Outfits are created in all types of fabrics - from small cotton prints to luxury satin and lace. Prices vary, but are approximately $20. Also available are dolls' bootees in matching colours at $2 per pair.

Grace also dabbles in oil painting.

ph: +61 2 4284 4394

04/03/2011

The landscape is at the core of my art practice. The concept of journeys is a central theme in my work, which reflects the areas that I have explored on foot through my local area or when travelling. A sense of place, the history, atmosphere and memories of the location are expressed in my mixed media works. The images range from tiny intimate works through to large canvases and works on paper.

In my art I also consider markmaking, Western and Eastern uses of space, traces, remnants and time passing. Cultural and historic perspectives are often referred to. I am interested in mapping imagery, papers, textures and collecting pieces to integrate into the paintings. The artworks often develop into a series where a personal narrative is communicated. The paintings tell my story while inviting the viewer to connect with them from their own experiences.